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ROMANIA – 2015 Quotas Announced

Romania’s work permit quotas for 2015 have been published in the Official Gazette (art I no. 87/02.02.2015), according to Government Decision (H.G) no. 52/28.01.2015.

More About Romania’s Work Permit Quotas

Romania’s work permit quotas run from 1 January every year and are decided annually by the government, based on the proposals from the Ministry of Labour. The quotas are set at national level and then subdivided into categories for local hires, assignees, highly skilled workers (Blue Cards) as well as seasonal workers, athletes, cross border workers, internships and volunteers. Once the quotas have been exhausted for a particular category, no more work permit approvals in that category can be given till the following year - unless the Romanian government exceptionally adjusts the quotas (this last happened in 2012).

The quota limits for 2014 were not reached.

Work Permit Quotas for 2015

The quota amounts for 2015 are the same as for 2014 (a total of 5500 authorisations), although allocations are different. The quotas are as follows:

work authorisations for local hires or professional athletes: 3300

work authorisations for assignees: 900

work authorisations for highly skilled workers (Blue Cards): 800

work authorisations for seasonal workers: 200

work authorisations for interns: 200

work authorisations for cross border workers: 100

The total number of authorisations is the same as in 2014 (5500) but the numbers have been allocated slightly differently: professional athletes no longer have their own special category and have been merged into the local hire category (meaning that this category has 3300 spaces, up from 3000 in 2014). Additionally, the quota for seasonal workers has been increased to 200 (up from 100) and the category listing for "nominal workers" has been removed.